Association between mother’s work status and child stunting in urban slums: a cross-sectional assessment of 346 child-mother dyads in Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020)

Abstract

Background A growing literature highlights the increased risk of stunting among children growing up in informal or slum settlements. Despite relatively high rates of female labor force participation in slums, there is limited evidence on relationship between mother’s work participation and nutritional outcomes of children in these settings. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in two large slums (Korail and Tongi) of Dhaka and Gazipur, Bangladesh to assess the association between maternal work and childhood stunting in a low-income urban context. Logistic regression models estimated unconditional and conditional associations between maternal work status and 1) child stunting, 2) child morbidity and dietary intake, and 3) health and hygiene behaviors. Subgroup analyses were done by type of child care support available. Results After adjusting for variations in individual and household level characteristics, we found that children of working mothers had nearly twice the odds of being stunted than children of non-working mothers (OR 1.84, 95%CI 1.05-3.23). Large differences in stunting were found by available care support: compared to children of non-working mothers, children of working mothers with nuclear-type family support had 4.5 times increased odds of stunting (OR 4.49, 95%CI 1.81-11.12), while no odds differential was found for children of working mothers with an extended-type family support (OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.30-1.59). Conclusions Maternal employment is associated with a substantial increase in the odds of child stunting in the slum areas studied. Given that these effects only appear to arise in the absence of adequate family support, integrating appropriate childcare support measures for low-income urban working mothers might be an effective strategy to help reduce the prevalence of chronic undernutrition among slum children.

A predictive modelling approach to illustrate factors correlating with stunting among children aged 12–23 months: a cluster randomised pre-post study

“…It is important to address this issue by providing adequate childcare support measures for working mothers from poor families to ensure that the child’s essential needs are not impacted by the mother’s employment status. 13 Additionally, efforts should be made to increase awareness among working mothers regarding the importance of child health and nutrition. This can be achieved through targeted education and outreach programmes that provide information on proper child feeding practices, hygiene and health-seeking behaviours.…”

“… 6 8 10–12 Children in poor households in Bangladesh are more likely to experience stunted growth if their mothers are employed, as there are inadequate day care centres available for the children, leading to insufficient breast feeding. 13 Moreover, evidence suggests that a number of characteristics at the household level, which relate to both children and mothers, can influence childhood stunting. The characteristics of the household head, household food insecurity and lower dietary diversity, household lower-income, household involvement in several earning activities, availability of sanitation facility at home, hand-washing status, family size, religion and receive several types of allowance from government are most often reported to be associated with stunting in the literature.…”

Faktor Berkaitan dengan Stunting dan Wasting pada Pasien Onkologi Anak

“…Secara negatif, ibu bekerja mempunyai waktu yang sedikit untuk mengurus anak. Dimana ibu yang tidak bekerja lebih mempunyai banyak waktu ke posyandu untuk mendapat lebih banyak edukasi terkait gizi dan Kesehatan serta pemberian makanan tambahan 22,31 32 . Selain itu anak bawah dua tahun mempunyai ketergantungan lebih besar kepada ibu, daripada anak usia 3-5 tahun.…”

Low Birth Weight Prevalence, Determinants and Prevention in Bangladesh

“…15 In addition, the risk of stunting is 36% higher among first-born children of girls under 18 years in South Asia and it has been found that early motherhood remains a key driver of malnutrition. 16…”

“…15 In addition, the risk of stunting is 36 percent higher among first-born children of girls under 18 years in South Asia and as such, early motherhood is a key driver of malnutrition. 16 Adolescent birth rate in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world which is 113 per 1,000 live births. 22 The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant's life is 55 percent.…”